8. Anthony Balch And William S. BurroughsThe Cut-Ups
I don’t know if I’ve broken the rules but I’ve picked a short film. I found this on a VHS that Psychic TV put out, a collection of William Burroughs and associates’ films from the 50s and 60s; I think my sister gave it to me for my birthday one year, which is bizarre. It had the Cut Ups film, and that was one of these moments where the whole universe changes. If you’ve just heard pop music and seen regular TV, that’s what your world is, and then then there’s this Burroughs film which says ‘oh, no, no, tear all that up, this is what’s possible’. It changed the parameters. That was so radical that it made my head snap and opened this world of infinite possibilities. It was my genesis, it was the seed that made me want to create.
